It is worth reading the Dow Jones article below as they sponsored the allthingsD conference. They mention appliances (Ruby talk later today apparently narrowed licensing to one or two special partners who bring something to the table and not someone already running another OS like Android etc [thanks Akitayo, link to his post below])

I like the way HP is garnering attention. Yet I don't understand why a launch date has not yet been mentioned for the TouchPad. Leo said he is asking the engineers to make it "perfect" and that sounds to me like there are still software issues as presumably the hardware is already manufactured.

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (Dow Jones)--Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) will aggressively market its WebOS operating system to other hardware manufacturers, part of a strategy to push the highly regarded operating system as an alternative platform for mobile devices.

H-P Chief Executive Leo Apotheker said on Wednesday the Palo Alto, Calif.-based technology giant has already begun courting potential licensees to use the software. H-P is expected to launch its own tablet computer, dubbed TouchPad, over the summer.

"I happen to believe WebOS is a uniquely outstanding operating system and there's no reason to believe the only hardware that can run it is H-P," Apotheker said at The Wall Street Journal's "D9: All Things Digital" conference in southern California.

I'm thinking he meant regular household appliances. Microwaves, fridges, washing machines... They would have to be higher-end appliances, given that they would need a touchscreen, but there is a market for that.

edit: like the pre3 or TP for inputs and the TV for viewing... this can get very interesting, but crush google TV.... think about how hard the interface with google is. no one wants it because th interaction sux. now with webos ure Touchpad or pre3 or veer can be the interface..... things can be VERY COOL~!

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